Well I'm sure it's all going to work out and be a successful weekend for all, despite all the nay sayers and key board sailors.
So after some consultation with the Kite crew, this is some of the progress thus far. (Tentative) Parking/camping/setup areas, something like this anyway (and not set in stone or exact). This way visitors will not be driving over the Kiters gear... 
Don't forget to stay off the vegetation next year.
Forgive me if I've jumped the gun, but we needed some progress shots... 
EDIT: Changed Pic as I was out a bit...
Some of the Kite crew have started talking about 2017, and leaning towards being in Kingston from 14th to the 25/28th (around that time).
I'm planning to wangle a week away in Kingston, 16th to 24th, or 23rd to 31st (depending on work commitments, a new job, etc). Probably change from now until then, but currently those are my options
Thinking this year we could do a group expedition up the beach to see how far we get. Sail up, have a drink, turn around and fly back Would look quite a sight if there are a few takers!
Select to expand quotelachlan3556 said..
Thinking this year we could do a group expedition up the beach to see how far we get. Sail up, have a drink, turn around and fly back Would look quite a sight if there are a few takers!
Yep I'm in mate.
I went from the groyne in Kingston to 21kms north of the Granites in my kite buggy this year. I wasn't game to go any further as I was using a 13.4mtr kite and the wind was onshore at 4 knots. I was worried I wouldn't get back if the wind eased by myself. I had food and drink with me, but I really suck at walking. 
Kite boys did a LOT of kilometers along the beach. One day I got 4 trips to the granites and back in, then went to the clay pan in the arvo when the wind turned SSW. A few of us even did a down-winder to the Granites and got towed back with a ute. It's a very pleasant cruise up from Kingston if the winds right Lachlan, so a great idea. Would love to see how far we can get.
Soooooo, hows everyones plans for Australia Day 2017? Are we going to have any other land yachts at Kingston other than Blokarts?
sòooooo....whats the go.....
whats Kingston..and whats the lakes.? do people have to move camp ?
what are the exact locations. what are the rules writen, whats unwriten, whats expected,
whats needed re water an toilet maybe shower. whats available
Im, looking for an indepth briefing, times, places, costs........before i commit........ i am interested......
The go is bring what you want to sail, anytime between 14th - 28th. Blokart National comp will be from 25th -28th and I imagine the lake will be quite busy during this period. FWIW I'll be there from 19th (arrive around lunch time) to the 24th.
No need to move camp if you are on the lake, there will be a 'rough' segregation between Blokart competitors and others, but its not set in stone and anyone is free to camp where they wish. I have a feeling we will end up mixing. I'm not sure of amenities at the lake in 2017, previously there have been absolutely none (ie: bring all you need inc water). Public toilets are in Kingston, as is servo (water available), supermarket, fishing shop and hotels. Fuel and food price is ok. No charge to camp at the lake.
Strictly no fires. No driving on the vegetation surrounding the lake. No 'circle work' or driving out onto the lake with cars (you will get bogged). Pretty much keep it respectful
A location map will be put up soon. Lake access road will be marked with flag, sign, etc. Lake is only 10 min north of Kingston SE and accessible by 2wd car. Closer to the date there should be venue reports, as of 1 week ago the lake is still covered in water. Back up/alternate location is the beach.
Well I'm coming from Qld for the Blokarts and really looking forward to being part of the whole Festival.
We don't get (m)any opportunities to see other types of landyachts in action so I am really looking forward to seeing you guys fly those kite buggys.
I'm sure once we all gather, there will be plenty of new friendships made within the whole group and maybe some Blokarters might be convinced to try kites, and vice versa. I'd love to have a run in that dual buggy.
We sail on sand and bitumen mainly so having a new surface to learn should also be interesting. Any advice gratefully accepted.
How long will it take for the lake to dry out satisfactorily, without any more cyclonic rain?
Look forward to meeting you all in Kingston SE.
Great news! I cannot say how long the lake will take to dry out this year, we will get more accurate information as the weeks tick down
We haven't had to yet, but the beach is available should the lake be too wet.
Hi, all
Some news regarding the windfest at kingston in 2017
A few days ago i got contacted by national parks, it seems that the lake that we use for the windfest has now been listed as a conservation park and as such now comes under some restricions of use. We now have to lodge a permit of use in a conservation park , which has already been done, i have been assured by the local ranger based in the town of Keith, that we will have no issue with the permit , it is just a formality, however there are some conditions attached to the permit.
Camping on the lake surface is to be kept to a minimun, however i havent been informed as to what that minimum is at this stage,, we are to keep vechiles off the verge of the lake so as not to impact the flora, no unnecessary vechile traffic on the lake itself, there are to be no open fires only gas bbqs stoves etc. I have infromed the local authorities that we already have these points in place.
The future of the wind fest beyond 2017 is a little grey but i have been informed by the local parks authority that each permit application for windfest will be looked at with the view that the event will move forward. Over the 2017 event and blokart titles nat parks rangers will be making visits just to see that things are going according to plan...
Don't let this new information deter you from attending a great event, its going to be great,,
If anyone needs any more info pm me and i will try to answer any questions you may have about either the windfest or the blokart titles. 
I will be on the lookout for other areas to hold future windfests just in case the worst case scenario happens but i don't think, as i said, this will be an issue .
In regards to the water in the lake and the condition of the area i hope to take a quick trip to kingston over the xmas new year holiday break as i have a couple of days off over the period, i will post on here and on conditions that i find, not sure when the trip will be expect sometime in the 1st week of the new year
I did notice the 'conservation park' status of the lake when I did a little digging. Good to hear we appear to have a good outlook for future events. Nice work Tony!
Thanks for the updates. And the future updates.
How would you best describe the beach area we would be using as an alternative?
Sandy....with bits of seaweed and shells on it?? 
Not being a beach person I'm not sure how to describe it.... Looks nice to sail on if the wind is coming from the right direction, at low tide there is usually a nice wide sailable area of hard sand. Anyone else wish to give their opinion???
mosquitos, sandflies, flys,..... does one need mozzy nets, aerogaurd, citronella candles, fly nets
Select to expand quotelandyacht said..
If I Was a Kiter I would certainly see it as claim jumping. this year it was noticed by myself that when the blowies decided to have some impromptu races, they set a course that simply cut right across the kiters launch turn and landing area. I did hear complaints from the blowies along the lines of "why do the buggies need to cut right across our race..?"
I think you seriously need to get the nationals organizers to talk to the kiter organization because you have in reality poached their weekend by holding a blokart nationals
You must have been talking to your friends from fairy land. Not one complaint came from any blokarters, and in fact we complimented everyone on such a fantastic event.
For the better of all sports, it will be a great way for the groups to see what other groups are doing. You never know, some blokarters might like to hop into a cheap home made machine one day, or take up kite buggying.
I am afraid this is getting blown out of proportion a bit,, i was there for the whole thing in 2016, yes there was the odd comment made on both sides BUT all in all everyone got along well. I might be blowing my own trumpet here a bit but I started the ball rolling with the windfest with the idea of having an event for ALL, and yes the kiters have been there a long time, I was there with my fed 5 trying the lake out as i couldn't seem to manage the beach very well, and it was a kite guy who suggested that i try the lake as it had a much firmer surface, the floowing year i went back and invited Lachlan to come over and it went from there. The point everyone seeems to be missing is that the whole idea was for US ALL to get togeather for a few days of fun, sailing, and making new friends not bitch'n and moaning and having an us and them mentality, the whole idea was, once a year come together and have a bit of fun , for god sake. The australia day weekend was chosen becasue its a national holiday and the last week more or less before we are all back at work for the new year. People are also forgetting that this area is public use land, for all to use not just 1 group or other. The January time slot was chosen for the titles because it was the only time that we could get help from the community like the loins club etc as they we committed to other activities at other times, and I think there is something that is being missed here also and that is that this is at this stage a 1 off event at this lake but the wind fest will I hope continue to grow in popularity and yes whose to say that sometime in the future another national event or even a world event won't be planned for the same time and place. You have to admit its a pretty good location close to facilities, that's why i picked it in the first place..my dream, for want of a better was/is to bring the wind powerd vechile community together once a year in one place to see what we are all doing swap ideas and have a bit of fun for everyone not matter what we sail in as long as we sail rather than have the fractured ****ed up way it is now, taking cheap shots from a great distance isnt going to help.
Joe, not many mozzies, maybe the odd one who is who is lost, sure like anywhere else there are flys during the day but not like up north, if you think you need the citronella candles bring them but i dont think you'll need them much. Hope that answers you concerns if you have any others let me know ..
Select to expand quotegibberjoe said..
mosquitos, sandflies, flys,..... does one need mozzy nets, aerogaurd, citronella candles, fly nets
Never noticed the flies too badly, rarely get stung by mozzies there. I would take a mozzie net just in case, nothing worse than trying to sleep with one of those things harassing you.
Before I forget, it can get quite cold at nights even though its the middle of summer. Don't forget a good sleeping bag/blankets...
Hi all. The first of the Kite crew are cruising into Kingston. Initial report from the lake was today and the word used to describe it was "soggy". Hopefully this is due to the recent rain and the coming days will dry it out again. Experience tells me that if it's a bit slippery for the kite buggies, it's no good for Landyachts. Better news is that the beach looked better than last year. Fingers crossed for dry windy weather, a lot can change in a few days
Some images up on another forum of the claypan....looking a bit drowned I'm afraid. Good news is the beach looks great!
For those travelling to Kingston, the Kiters usually set up camp on the beach a little way north (1-2km) of the Blackford Drain (Long Beach Road - turn left off hwy right where the B1 is on map below). I will hazard a guess a say there might be a few landsailors around that area too. I doubt there will be anyone at the claypan/lake for at least a week (judging from photos and reports). Also, look for Kites/buggies/landyachts at the Kingston caravan park. Ask around, as we all end up knowing who's around fairly quickly. Otherwise, see you on the beach soon!
Has anyone else heard any other reports from Kingston? Anyone sailed the beach yet?
See you Saturday!
Not much more rain, some strong winds and a bit of good old Aussie heat, the lake might be good in a week?
I did a 56 km session up and back a few times from the boat ramp to a few kilometres past the granites on Sunday with 12" wide tyres on my kite buggy and the beach was pretty hard right up to the dunes with a bit of seaweed.
With a few tide changes it now has quite a bit of weed at both the tide marks and ripples 5 or 6 meters apart running across the beach yesterday and worse today. Just makes it a pain at speed even with balloon tyres.
Beach from the Blackford drain to town has had the seaweed removed and a lot smoother with much less weed and very firm due to the compaction of the machinery clearing the weed.
Yesterday was a light wind day and lots of weedy patches right up to the "25 km post" well past the granites, along the beach with the same channels across the beach with the southern end being quite rough (particularly the first 3 kms north of the drain).
Nadzab clay pan is almost fully covered in water when the wind drops off and it's impossible to get off anywhere along the causeway without my shoes sinking in. This I reckon won't dry out anytime soon due to being at a lower level to the main pan, the subsoil moisture and also the shade of the 1200mm high reed growth where we had access in the past. I reversed back out on the causeway to the double gates to be able to turn my vehicle around.
See photos on EK.
Thanks for the update Chook, not quite the news we wanted but gives us some time to think about alternate strategies. See you in a few days mate
Well, 2017 is turning out to be interesting. Clay pan is under water, as are the others in the area. Heaps of rain last night too, which fails to help. Beach looks ok but the wind is blowing straight down the damn thing. I'll try tomorrow morning at the Toop road beach and hope the wind changes for the better. I heard Chook is looking south for other options. I'll report back again tomorrow... :)
On Toop road beach at the moment having a very nice sailing session. Lovely weather too!
On Toop road beach at the moment having a very nice sailing session. Lovely weather too!
